Mom · now
Hey baby. I know I promised to pick you up so we could go to that ice cream place, but...don't panic...I'm in the hospital. Just catch a ride with Bella and I'll see you later OK? I'm so sorry. Love you.
P.S. Food's in the fridge.
The bell rang for the end of Artâand beginning of lunchâand Viola began packing her things. The easel in front of her had the sketch of a dress with embedded diamonds and uncountable butterflies.
Art class was the closest thing to fashion designing she had. Well, there was also Fashion Design and Illustrationâan after-school class taught by one of the nicest teachers at Wyland Highâbut she didn't want to take the class for some reason. Many times, she had walked past the room, looking dreamily into it, through the glass panel on the door. It was made up of mostly girlsâsmiling girls.
She put her pencils in her backpack, then zipped it up, happy with her first art of the school year. Bella crossed her mind for a brief second as she gave the sketch a last look; she still hadn't talked to her. Putting stinging thoughts aside, she slung her backpack over one shoulder and headed towards the door.
"Um, Viola, can you stay for a minute or two? I'd like to speak with you."
She stopped and turned to Miss Jiao, the art teacher, who was packing away some paint brushes.
Viola stood where she was, confused for a second. Did she do something wrong? It was just the first day of school and, sure, Miss Jiao was a lovely woman, not strict in any way, but she didn't shy away from calling people out on things, either.
Miss Jiao closed the cabinet after putting the brush containers in it, then turned to Viola with a smile.
"Am... I in trouble for something? Was my drawing not good enough?" Viola hated the thought of people criticizing her drawings, forgetting sometimes that there was a lot of criticism in the fashion industry.
Miss Jiao's smile widened. "Definitely not. I just wanted to talk to you about some after-school clubs. And your drawing is amazing! I love it."
Her cheeks went slightly red. "Gee, thanks, Miss Jiao."
"Don't mention." She took a piece of lined paper from her desk, then handed it to her. "Freshman year, you didn't join any. Why?"
"Uh... I just didn't want to. Wasn't interested."
Miss Jiao gave her a fond look. "Clubs are really good, especially for talented teens like you, and I'd really love it if you joined one. I made a list of possible interests for youâyou can have a look at them and pick one."
Viola wanted to reject it on the spot, but Miss Jiao added, "I know things are rough for you at home, but I assure you that the club will help get your mind off it for a while."
Her face fell. She knew Miss Jiao meant well, but she didn't really like it when her family was brought up. It always left a sour taste in her mouth.
"I also included the club leaders' names, in case you'd like to speak with them," the lady added, placing a hand on her shoulder, and Viola nodded.
"I'll see if I like any," she mumbled.
"That's wonderful! Just update me on your progress."
Viola didn't like the sound of joining a club, but it was obvious her art teacher suggested it out of care. It was true; things were rough at home. But she liked pretending she only had to worry about little things, like what people were saying about her on the Internetâlike Bella did. Or how her YouTube channel was faring. Things were a little less rough that way.
So, on the way to her locker, she scanned the list in her hand.
Dance clubâno, though she danced a whole lot better than Bella. Literature clubâno. Fashion design club... maybe, because fashion!
The paper left her hand before she could see the next one, as she bumped into something solid. A high pitched yelp immediately filled her ears.
Oh, fravvle rockets!
Amora Belle stood in front of her, glowering. "Hey, watch it. You don't read and walk at the same time. What fool does that?"
Amora terrified the hem off Viola's skirt. She was Bella's number one archenemyâalso everyone's archenemy. The girl was a jealous type. If someone had something she didn't, then they were officially hated. It was like they were in elementary school again.
"Sorry," Viola said, squatting to pick up her club list, but white sneakers slammed on top of it before she got to it. She looked up at Amora. "Um, that's mine."
"Oh, really? Is your name on it?"
God! How did she get into this?
"Viola?"
She almost let out a sigh of relief when she saw Bella approaching them. If anyone could deal with Amora, it was Bella.
"And Amora. Why are you bothering my friend? Oxygen got boring already?"
Amora smiled. "Pathetic attempt."
Bella gave a shrug. "Meh. Who cares? Get your feet off her paper." She went to stand in front of her.
"She bumped into me and because of that, she's not getting it back." Amora folded her arms.
"Tut tut. I never thought you'd stoop this lowâgetting jealous over a piece of paper."
"What?!" She unfolded her arms, "I am not jealous, FYI. And definitely not over a stupid piece of paper."
"Then get your feet off the stupid piece of paper."
They had a stare off, and Viola remained squatted. Bella was surprisingly more confident, and Amora was surprisingly more intimidating, probably because Stephanie wasn't there. If it were Stephanie standing in front of her, she wouldn't dare look her in the eye.
Finally, she elegantly brushed strands of dark hair away from her face and said, "Fine. I'll move my feet, but because I'm sick of standing here, not 'cause you told me to."
"Good idea."
Amora gave Viola one last look before walking past them.
"Bake me a cupcake or something when you're less angry!" Bella shouted behind her, and once she was out of earshot, she looked down at her friend and sighed. "Did I do good?"
Viola took her club list from the floor and stood. "You did awesome. She needs someone to give her attitude a spank."
Bella smiled. "What's that anyway?"
"An after-school club list. Compiled by Miss Jiao."
"Oh?"
"She wants me in one." She folded it, then took her backpack off. "Ooh, I'm hungry."
"Yeah, me too..." Bella trailed off, as if remembering something. "Hey." Viola put the list in her backpack, zipped it up, then slung it back over her shoulder, before looking at her. "I'm... sorry about earlierâin the car. I was just pissed you and Cody teamed up to mock me."
Apologizing wouldn't stop it from hurting, butâ
"It's okay. Fine, fine. Let's go eat. I think we're having chicken sandwich as today's special."
Bella knew it wasn't fine, fine, but ignored it anyway. She realized she hurt her friends' feelings and felt bad about it, and that was what mattered.
"Let's stop by our lockers before heading to the caf." They turned in unison, in the direction of the lockers, a silent agreement. "Hey, isn't Amora a vegetarian?"
"She is." Viola's eyes lit up as she realized something. "Ah! No wonder she was like that. We're having chicken today."
They stopped by each other's lockers first to keep their books, then headed to the cafeteria.
"So, how was Honors Math?" Viola asked.
Bella, apart from being in love with her channel, was a state-declared math whiz. The 'Are You a Math Whiz? 2018' trophy in a glass case in her room said it all. It was a huge boost for her channel, and all her other social media accounts.
"It was cool. And I met The Replacement."
"Already?"
"Already. It's a guy. He sat in the row next to mine, a bit toward the front, so I could stare at the back of his head."
"So?"
"So what? He's Steph's replacement, what can I say?"
"I don't know. Is he nice?"
"We didn't actually have a convo. After class, I pushed his books down on purpose, just to get a reaction, and you won't believe he apologized. That was my job."
Viola laughed a bit. "You seem chatty. Solved the Fashionella problem already?"
"Half of it. Posted on Instagram about the video I'll be sharing tonight, addressing the issue. That means I have a little filming to do later."
"Your problems are so easy to solve. It's like flicking a wand." She wished hers were equally easy to solve.
They got to the cafeteria, where there was so much buzz. Students chatting, seniors in one corner, freshmen excited.
Viola spotted Cody at a table with his friends, and when their eyes met, he questioned her silently. She gently shook her head so Bella wouldn't notice, then looked away. She just wasn't ready to tell Bella anything yet. And the girl's behavior that morning wasn't cheering her on.
They went to stand in line to get their food, after which they found a table.
"So, about this Replacement guy," Viola started, taking a bite of her sandwich. "How does he look? Easy on the eyes?"
"I didn't look at him for that long, but he's cute."
"Did you get a name then?"
"No. Mr. Dylan mentioned it once, but I wasn't paying attention. It starts with a J, though. Jack or something." She put her phone on, then went to her Instagram to check the comments on her post.
I respect that you care about us
At least it's sth to watch
Yeah! Fashionella's fine! Yay!
I would LOVE it if Adele's on the next show. Her tips are AMAZEBALLS!
At least the comments weren't depressing.
The sound of a guitar playing suddenly filled the room, and it forced her to look up. Everyone's attention was focused on someone in the senior's corner, probably the person playing the guitar. She didn't see who it was, as some students obscured her vision.
"Who's turned the cafeteria into a gig center?" she asked rhetorically, and Viola leaned back to see.
She was quite restless because she wasn't able to draw; she didn't want to, for Bella's sake. So she was thankful to whoever was distracting her with that sweet tune.
The guitar finally stopped, and applause overtook.
"Sweet," Viola said.
The students cleared up a bit, and Bella leaned forward to see the guitarist, but it wasn't enough, so she leaned back.
Of course.
Beau Algernon's gaze met hers halfway, and he smiled wider, before giving her his trademark flirty wink. She shook her head, trying hard not to blush, but his smile seemed to widen even more.
Viola squealed across from her, and Bella turned to her friend. "I totally saw that. And you totally blushed."
Bella waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it. That was a normal reaction."
Viola let out an unladylike snort, earning a flinch from Bella. "Yeah. This isn't the first, second or third time it's happening. You know that."
"So?"
She wiggled her brows, but said nothing.
"What does that mean?"
"Oh, nothing."
Viola was smiling like a cartoon character, and Bella glanced back in Beau's direction.
His name was fitâextremely fit, and Bella wouldn't deny it. Oh, and that smile was lovely. Okay, yes, she blushed, because heck, he winked at her. She had been getting those for a while, but today's was different. Maybe it was a first day of school thingâseeing everything in a new light.
To distract herself, she said, "Have you seen Travon today?"
"No. Why?"
"It's like he ate something during the summer. He's hotter than a heatwave."
"Uh huh. Trying to distract yourself, I see."
She pointed a finger in her best friend's direction. "You're evil."
Viola giggled just before her phone buzzed on the table. She took it and looked into the screen for a while, her face falling. Bella studied her, sensing the mood change.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Just," Viola kept the phone back on the table, "a text from my mom."
"Is everything fine? You don't look too happy."
She forced up a smile. "Yeah. I'm okay."
For the rest of lunch, she didn't say anything, and her smile didn't return either. The way her mood shifted was surprising to Bella, and she wanted her to say something so bad. But Viola just ate her sandwich quietly, then excused herself afterwards.